


A Christmas Hope

by CanteculLuiA



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Crush at First Sight, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Hallmark Movie Fic Challenge, Inspired by Hallmark Christmas Movies, One Shot, Secret Crush, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:06:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21964045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CanteculLuiA/pseuds/CanteculLuiA
Summary: Ben Solo is a grumpy businessman meant to spend Christmas all alone until he meets a homeless Rey, who might be his good deed for the year.
Relationships: Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 6
Kudos: 58





	A Christmas Hope

If Ben Solo knew one thing, that was the sad cruel truth that he hadn’t felt any Christmas joy in years. His early memories were quite pleasant and if he allowed them, they would fill his heart with nostalgia. The huge Christmas tree under which he used to hide until his uncle Chewie lifted him up on his shoulders to reach the top and put the star himself. The beautiful handmade Amidala-Naberrie ornaments passed from one generation to the other. His dad’s and uncle Lando’s crazy gifts that would make his mom have a meltdown each Christmas Eve. And his mother’s warm hugs and delicious meals… 

Ben sighed and brushed off any sign of sadness or nostalgia the moment she saw his assistant approach his office.

“Excuse me, Mr. Solo,” said Rose with a warm smile. “The Christmas carolers are here.” 

“Please don’t bother me with such nuisance, Mrs. Tico.”

The young woman was taken aback by his words, finally understanding the gossip and whispering about Mr. Grinch Solo.

“Should we ask them to leave?”

Ben pursed his lips behind the laptop’s screen and tapped his fingers on the glass surface of his desk.

“I don’t care. If the other employees and managers want them here, then fine. But I don’t want to see them or hear them. Keep them in the lobby.”

Rose nodded politely and pretty much ran away from the monster’s cave probably regretting asking him in the first place. Ben got up and stretched his arms, then turned to face the large window behind him. The streets had been nicely decorated since the beginning of December and with the dark clouds and low temperatures announcing a long-awaited snowstorm, people were even more excited. Ben squinted and looked at the Santa talking to some children on the street. Or more specific, he looked at the figure behind him. It looked like a child in a grey dress with a lilac apron, the type he had seen in movies. It was quite late to film a movie two days before Christmas.

Ben shook his head and returned to his desk. The constant notifications in the corner of the screen kept announcing him that people had not forgotten about him as he did about them. Whereas his work email address had a clean inbox with not even a spam email, the personal one was being flooded by invitations and Christmas cards.

None of them would be opened.

All of them would end up deleted.

“Hey, kid,” heard Ben the voice of his uncle much later. His muscles were hurting after spending the entire afternoon and evening bent over papers. He closed his eyes, rubbing them like back when he was a kid and cracked his neck.

“What?” he yawned.

“Nothing,” the old men shrugged. “Just dropping by to tell you that I’ve sent everyone home.”

Was it that late? Yes, it was dark outside, but it was normal for that time of the year. However, the clock on the wall was perfectly functional and ready to reveal that his uncle had made some decisions without consulting him… again. The young Solo stood up menacing, but, unlike his employees, his uncle was anything but impressed. He even looked amused. He took pleasure in defying him.

“With what right did you do that?” he lashed at him. “I’m the b-”

“You’re tired and grumpy, kid. These people won’t make us or anyone more money by being miserable before Christmas.”

“Christmas is in two days. I’ve already agreed to let them have a half-day off on Christmas Eve. This decision, a stupid one, of course, will cause a lot of trouble.”

Luke sighed and approached his nephew. He could see how tired the boy was, but most important, how consumed he was by everything. He had burnt on the inside a long time before and now only his outsides were left to dry and burn out.

“There are other things more important than this company.”

“It’s the only thing I have and the only thing that helps these people put food on their tables and gifts under their Christmas trees. So don’t lecture  _ me  _ on greed. Unlike you, I am responsible.” 

“You’re miserable. Do you want to become your grandfather?”

“Well, yes, I do. At least he knew what his priorities were.”

“Did he, Ben? Did he?”

It was Ben’s time to be taken aback by the reality that was his family’s history. His mother and uncle had had a great childhood, but not thanks to their father. And given the current situation, his destiny seemed to be far more cruel. At least Anakin Skywalker had the time to fall in love, marry and have two children, unlike him, whose personal life resumed to… more work. He barely had time for an affair every couple of weeks with some random girl he met in the same working environment. Without the occasional office parties, big conferences and meetings with new clients, he wouldn’t even have the chance to meet an equally desperate assistant for a quick shag. Other than that, his personal life was mostly inexistent. Of course, he would have no reason to take more days off! What he would even do home alone?

“So what do you say? Shouldn’t we let the janitor’s and the night watchman’s jobs easier?”

Ben rolled his eyes and closed his laptop.

“Just so you know… I’m not doing this for you or anyone else.”

“Sure.”

“I’m doing just because I hadn’t had lunch today.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Ben sighed trying his best not to throw a tantrum, then slung the laptop bag over his shoulder and grabbed his briefcase and coat, before storming out of his office.

“Stop following me!” he yelled at his uncle, whose loud steps were similar to the ticking of a time bomb, with the time bomb being his fragile mental and emotional state at that point.

“Are you coming to the family dinner on Christmas Eve?”

“If I had intended to come, I would have announced you by now, don’t you think?”

“We all meet at five o’clock and you the place.”

Ben slammed the door behind him and stopped once the cold wind hit him like a wave of ice. He buttoned up his coat wishing he had brought with him at least a scarf. People around him didn’t seem to mind the cold weather. Some children were even blowing small clouds of hot air, whereas others were busy running around Santa yelling all excited while their parents were filming them.

He could not understand them, nor their behavior.

He turned up his collar and waited for the light to turn green before crossing the street. Now closer to the children and Santa, the noise was much louder and he could notice that they were actually singing… well… each child was singing off-key a different Christmas Carol so that the result was just a bunch of incoherent noises. He stood there for a moment, watching them and still feeling nothing but emptiness and perhaps apathy, then entered the bakery. As he waited in line, his eyes were still watching through the large window what people were doing. Except this time he was not as focused on the children running to Santa and their parents throwing coins and bills in his cauldron, but at the person sleeping outside. It was a small pile of filthy clothes and messy hair, too small to be an adult. Was it a child? Was it even alive at that point?

Ben paid for his pretzels and pastries and went outside. He approached the tiny person, who seemed to have sensed his presence as she lifted her head and met him with a pair of hostile and terrified eyes. It was a girl! And she was looking at his bag of hot pretzels and pastries like a famished animal. She licked her lips, then looked once more at him and stood up. She was wearing a grey dress with a lilac apron and a pair of filthy torn shoes, already unsuitable for that weather.

“Please,” she spoke with a mature voice that contradicted her overall physical aspect. She was no child, she was a young woman. A pretty one underneath all those rags and filth.

“Would you like a pretzel?”

“Yes,” she exhaled with tears in her eyes and almost snatched the pretzel out of Ben’s hand before devouring it. “Thank you, Sir! May God bless your soul!”

Ben snorted, but he immediately pretended to be coughing. Her eyes were too full of gratitude to make snarky remarks.

“So… why are you here in this weather?”

“I’ve got nowhere elsewhere to go,” she shrugged. “I have no home.”

Suddenly, Ben felt something pinching his insides.

“Don’t you have a family?” he said handing her an apple strudel. “Be careful. It’s hot.”

“No,” she shook her head. “I’ve been an orphan since I was a little girl. When I turned eighteen, the nuns offered me a place to work, instead of letting me go like the others.”

The nuns?

“But I wanted more from my life, so I came here. However, I haven’t really accomplished anything. I have no work experience, no studies, no background.”

Ben analyzed the tiny freckles on her tanned skin. The nuns and the peculiar way she talked…

“You’re not from around here, are you?”

“Oh, no,” she giggled and Ben blinked surprised by how cute those sounds were. “I’m from the far south. It’s always warm there and we don’t have snow.”

Snow? Ben looked at his black shoes and the tiny snowflakes resting on them, then back again at the girl.

“What’s your name?”

“Berrey Saint-John.”

“Berry? Like Strawberry?”

“No,” she chuckled. “It’s like Bay-rey. You can call me just Rey.”

“Ok, Rey. I’m Benjamin Solo. You can call me Ben.”

They both looked at his hand in surprise. Ben because it was unlike him offer to shake the hand of someone who is not a business partner and completely clean, and Rey because it was the first time ever since she had left the orphanage when someone was so nice to her. She still shook his hand with a firm grip.

“Nice to meet you. Is it Solo as in unmarried?”

It was ben’s time to chuckle.

“Yeah. Like that. So tell me, Rey… do you plan to spend the rest of your life here? Outside? Because I can assure you that winters here are a nightmare no matter how excited people are right now.”

Rey pursed her lips.

“Not really. As I told you, my plan was to find a job here and live my life, but no one paid attention to me weeks ago. They will less likely pay attention to me now,” she pointed at her filthy clothes. “And the thing is, Si-Ben… I truly am a hardworking girl. I can cook, I can sew, clean, repair things, but with no clean clothes, studies or home, I am pretty much an unreliable nobody. I was refused even as a cleaning lady on the streets. I was told that they have no certainty that I wouldn’t damage something or steal. And frankly, I truly don’t know what else to do. As you said, the weather is not my friend.”

No matter how brave she was trying to seem, Ben could read the sadness and disappointment in her eyes. He knew very well about the classist rules in that city. He had once heard a girl being denied even the interview for a job as a salesgirl at a gift shop for not having a diploma. Maybe that girl ended up finding a job, a better one. And maybe she got her diploma after all. But Rey? She stood no chance in that country and city and especially not with the blizzard that was approaching them.

“Maybe it will sound crazy,” he said licking his lips nervously. “You’re new here and you don’t really know how things work around here, so how about I help you?”

“Help me?” she looked at him all suspicious, making Ben realize that the poor girl surely had had her share of disappointments.

“Yeah… but first thing first, you need new clothes,” he said and turned around to look for a taxi. He waved at one just as the driver was getting inside while munching on a pretzel. He turned back to her, but she had an uncomfortable look on her face.

“What?”

“Sir,” she said slowly. “I know I am homeless and poor, but I am not a prostitute. I have nothing against such a job, but it’s not who I am.”

Ben stared at her perplexed then burst into laughter. It was unlike him to put on such a show in the middle of the street, with people glaring and pointing at him as if he were some mad man. However, the strong sense of duty he felt towards that girl was much stronger than his self-consciousness. 

“Look… I am in need of a maid,” he lied. “Someone who can also cook and repair. I am usually not at home and I need someone to take care of the place while I am away… most of the time. I trust you will not damage anything or steal from me and you trust me I will treat you with respect and not take advantage of you. Deal?”

The girl pondered his offer for a moment, but once the wind blew again, chilling her bones, she agreed with a hesitant nod. Between dying of hunger and cold on the streets of a city she barely knew and risk dying at the hands of a handsome stranger… the first one sounded still quicker, but maybe she could run away in case things were getting out of hand.

She followed him inside the taxi and let him take her to a supermarket. Ben seemed to be enjoying himself, but she… she was more than uneasy among all those people.

“People are staring,” she murmured looking only at the wheels of their trolly.

“Let them stare. It distracts them from throwing themselves at each other’s neck for the last carton of milk,” he said grabbing a blouse from the ‘on sale’ basket and throwing it in their trolly. Rey took the blouse carefully and looked at the fabric and price. It was… nice and cheap, but better than she could have ever deserved.

“Thank you,” she murmured with her eyes filled with tears. “You must be an angel.”

Ben stopped rummaging and noticed the tears streaming down her face. Her puffy cheeks were red and she was so vulnerable and genuinely grateful that he felt his heart soften. She wasn’t just his good deed for the year in hopes that his soul would be redeemed. She was something else, something more than the recipient of his newly rediscovered pity or overall guilt. Maybe they were each other’s Christmas gift. Or maybe he was just tired and mad.

He shook his head and approached Rey with his arms full of clothes.

“Sorry for not taking you to the mall, but it’s worse than here and I honestly hate shopping. Maybe you can do that too once I hire you.”

“Yeah… of course!” she gave him a radiant smile full of hope and one hour later, she was leaving the supermarket carrying plenty of bags. She was so smitten by his kindness that she did not even pay attention to where they were going. She kept staring at him, admiring each distinct feature and memorizing each wrinkle, hair strand and mole. He had some peculiar traits, but as a whole, he was an imposing man.

“Why me?” she asked refusing to enter his home. “Not that I am unappreciative, but why me? There are other people who deserve all of these more than I could ever do.”

Ben sighed and grabbed her wrist pulling her inside and locking the door behind them. Rey looked at him panicked, but he raised his hands and closed his eyes before she got to listen to her instinct of grabbing the silver ashtray and hit him in the head with it.

“Listen, why not enjoy this?”

She clenched her fists taking a step back.

“Doesn’t God say something about accepting the gifts of others in order to be able to give to those less fortunate than us?”

Her fists relaxed.

“Not really,” she snorted. “But I get your point.”

He smiled.

“People usually see me as a cold-hearted monster and knowing how much I’ve been  _ blessed  _ with my entire life. By helping you now, you can get on your own feet later and help others. Isn’t this what you want to do?”

She bit the inside of her cheek and nodded.

“So you don’t really need a maid?”

“Umm… no. Yes. I do need someone to take care of my home.”

Her entire body relaxed and he wiped his sweaty palms on his trousers.

“May I show you the bathroom and then we can talk some more?”

With hesitant steps, Rey followed him and went inside the bathroom. He closed the door for her and let her take her time as he clumsily turned on the oven and threw inside a lasagna. he changed his clothes into something more comfortable and set the table. It was funny that he was sort of cooking and preparing the dinner for his future maid when technically, it was her job.

He sat down at the table and massaged his temples. What on earth was he thinking when he asked her to come with him? She was supposed to live with him from now on, but he had never in his life heard of a maid sleeping on her boss’ sofa. Was he supposed to provide a contract for her and with her living and eating in his house, how much was he supposed to pay for her services? Or was she going to work for free considering that he was already providing her with food and a place to sleep? But then how could she ever get on her own feet and move out and get a better job?

“I’m done, Sir,” she appeared in front of him perfectly clean and wearing a simple white blouse and a pair of loose pants, too big for her slim figure.

“You can still call me Ben,” he waved at the chair next to him. Rey accepted his invitation and sat down looking with curiosity at her plate. 

“What’s this?”

“Lasagna. Have you ever eaten lasagna?”

“No,” she continued staring fascinated. “We didn’t get any fancy food at the orphanage.”

“Ok.”

“Ok. Then should we say the prayer?”

“No.”

That was the most awkward conversation any of them could have ever imagined. The differences between them were more than obvious and even though they were more comfortable with each other being there, Ben was still confused about his decision and Rey was still unsure whether her safety was guaranteed and despite still being famished, she barely touched the lasagna.

“There’s no drug in it,” said Ben with such seriosity that it took her a while to realize that he was making fun of her. She gathered all the courage to bring the fork to her lips and minutes later she was almost licking the plate.

Ben wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin and got up. He disappeared for a few minutes, then returned with a sheet, a duvet, and a pillow.

“You can leave the plates for tomorrow. These will be yours for as long as you live here. If you don’t mind it, we will discuss the terms of our agreement tomorrow.”

And just like that, he left. Rey got up shily and cleaned up everything as she was too nervous to go to bed just yet, then took the duvet and pulled an armchair by the large window. She sat there looking at the city lights with fascination, but still nostalgic about her childhood spent at the orphanage with the nuns. The city life seemed so magical through the eyes of an innocent and naive little girl, but after the many weeks spent on the streets, it was nothing but a noisy purgatory full of mean people. Well… maybe except one.

The following day, Ben returned early from work. He had spent the morning at the gym, then served his breakfast at his favourite cafe before going to work only to find out that his uncle had not been kidding at all. His half-day off on Christmas Eve had been turned into a full day off. No one was at work apart from him and his first instinct was to send an email to all of his employees to wish them a very happy sacking. But that was until he saw the gift on his desk. He opened it and found a leather necklace with a silver pendant. Whoever had bought it for him must have been confused, because his name was not Ren nor was that silver letter a B. He rolled his eyes amused and put the necklace back in the box and sat at his desk. However, with not even a soul at work, including his partners, he finished all his chores more quickly than expected. Therefore, at lunch, instead of eating out or ordering food, he returned home. And for the first time ever, it truly felt like home.

Hours before, around three in the morning, he went to get something to drink from the fridge only to find his new maid-guest-charity project sleeping like a toddler in the armchair. He shook his head unsure about what made her sleep in such a place and position and went to check on her. He hadn’t asked her about her age, but according to all that she had told him, she must have been around nineteen. So she wasn’t a child, though not entirely a woman. He looked at her long curled eyelashes and freckles, then at the beautiful shape of her lips suddenly feeling the urge to touch them with the tip of his finger and maybe… No! It was not right! He had promised not to be in any way a danger for her. But still… he sighed frustrated and gently lifted her in his arms, carrying her into his bedroom. He had a tendency of sleeping right on the edge of his bed, so there was more than enough space for the both of them. It took him more time to fall asleep than usual, as the cadence of her breath made his heart beat faster and faster, feeding his indecent urges. So when the morning came, he was more than relieved to escape his bedroom and apartment. 

But now, back home, he suddenly felt like a child again. His old Christmas tree was decorated in the corner of the living room and tinsel, bells, and angels were thrown all over the place. Moreover, the entire house smelt like cinnamon, apples and oranges and… were those cookies? He loosened his tie and entered the kitchen, where Rey was cooking something mouthwatering on the stove. And just like that, she looked more like a wife than a maid. The way she was giggling excited and talking to herself was adorable and more than adorable was her apple-shaped butt.

“Oh, welcome home, Ben!” she smiled to him and gulped at the sight of her hazel eyes, button nose, delicious lips, and visible breasts through the sheer top.

“I wasn’t sure when you would come back, so I decorated for you. I used to love doing this at the orphanage with the other kids and the nuns. And I didn’t know whether you had plans or not, so I looked around and made you some turkey and cookies.”

Ben kept looking at her as if she were a mermaid luring him with each word and eyelash batting. He parted his lips to tell her that he hadn’t asked her to do any of those things. He didn’t care about Christmas and his house had not been decorated in the first place for a certain reason, not because he was one of those weird people decorating on Christmas Eve. But he couldn’t. Not when she was that excited and when he remembered how she looked the day before. The weather was colder than yesterday and it had snowed the entire night and a good part of that morning. Rey wouldn’t have survived that night had it not been for him. Or maybe someone would have called an ambulance only to make her feel better for a few hours before returning on the streets. Therefore, the only place where she truly belonged was his home. 

“Thank you,” he said with a raspy voice.

“Have you decided what to do with me?”

Oh, he had, but it contradicted his promise. 

“Not yet,” he admitted. “Maybe we can decide it together… after Christmas.”

“Sure,” she nodded shily. “Also… um… if may I ask…”

“Yes?”

“Why was I in your bed?”

Of course, she had to ask that question! Ben avoided her gaze for a while, then bit his lip and shrugged.

“You didn’t seem that comfortable sleeping in that armchair.”

“Oh…” she licked her lips. “So… I am going to sleep on the sofa tonight and for the rest of my staying.”

“That was the plan.”

Her lips thinned in a firm line and returned to the oven.

“The answer is no.”

“Excuse me?”

“I don’t have plans for Christmas. I mean… my family had invited me for dinner tonight and to spend Christmas with them, but I refused. I refuse each year.”

“Oh,” she said again blinking visibly distressed as she assimilated the information. “I don’t know what’s like to have a family and refuse to spend time with them, especially on Christmas.” 

She was just honest in telling him that, but Ben felt the undertones of her words. And if in another day such a snarky remark would have angered him, this time he felt truly guilty. Time was such a precious thing and the health of each of his family members was slowly declining year by year. Maybe it was the last Christmas they would get to spend together. And once gone, all the resentment he felt for the years he had been mistreated by them, would end up as a permanent gaping wound. Like it did for his grandfather. Anakin Skywalker had defied everyone and everything for happiness until he ended up dedicating his life to what he thought would make him happy. And once he lost his wife and his two children, he never was the same, just a bitter old man consumed by illness, bitterness, and misery. So… did he truly want to be like his grandfather?

“Rey, what do you like most about Christmas?” he asked her as she was pretending to be busy dusting the already very clean coffee table. She wiped her sweaty forehead with her sleeve, making her blouse reveal her thin waist and the shape of her hips. Ben scratched his nose trying to look at something else, such as the few Amidala-Naberrie ornaments he had in his Christmas tree. He never knew his mother had packed a couple of them when he moved out. Of course, he would have refused them in the first place, but now, they were a reminder that he came from a long line of beautiful people who only sought the happiness of their families. The fact they all failed was irrelevant. All that mattered was that they tried and with his parents still alive, there was still a chance.

“I don’t know,” she murmured. “As I said, the weather in the south is much warmer, so our winter days and nights were not as cold and gloomy as they are here. But they still felt so lonely without any flowers or the sun shining. And when you’re in an orphanage, you already have a constant reminder that you are all alone. So I guess that Christmas was a way for us to bring colour and light in our lives. And the idea of Santa Claus was a way of pretending that there was still someone caring about us. Don’t get me wrong. The nuns were a blessing, but we still had exposure to the world outside the orphanage and knew that we weren’t like the other kids.”

She pouted for a moment, then got up from the floor and sat next to him.

“Why do you hate Christmas and your family, Ben?”

“I don’t  _ hate  _ any of them. It’s just that at some point in my life, I stopped getting along with them and my parents stopped giving a damn about Christmas anymore because I was already older and everything. Everyone was so busy that no one even noticed how horrible I was feeling both emotionally and physically. I got sick that year and everyone around me was fighting and blaming each other. None of them knew how for me everything was dark, scary and miserable. I got better eventually after a long painful treatment, but I asked my parents to let me go to boarding school and… pretty much never returned home. So for like the past maybe fifteen years, I’ve never celebrated Christmas again despite my parents trying to revive it for our family. I still loved all the decorations and joy for a while, but I eventually gave up on those too. Maybe it’s just a thing for children, you know. As long as you are innocent, you get to enjoy such things, but once you get older, your priorities are others. Such as… making a living and being responsible.”

Rey cupped his cheek.

“Sorry. It probably doesn’t make sense for you, but for me, it was the only coping mechanism.”

“It’s ok to feel like that, but please, never lose hope. Life is made of all the little things we get to enjoy.”

Ben put her hand over hers and squeezed it.

“I don’t think I even enjoy anything anymore.”

“That can’t be true!” she furrowed. “There must be something that makes you happy.”

“Mno?” he shook his head. “I think the reason why I work so much is exactly to give my life a purpose. I am harsh with my employees, but they are among the best paid in the entire city. I want them to be able to provide for their families.”

“But you do know that families need more than money, right? They need attention and affection. They need time.”

The same time he was beginning to realize that he might be running out of. He looked at his Christmas tree. It still didn’t spark much joy, but something else… someone else did. He gently put his hand on Rey’s neck and pulled her closer. She was staring at him with huge eyes, but with no fear in them, nor disgust. She even closed them and lifted her chin with her lips parted, waiting for him to press her lips against her. Ben hesitated for a moment for all the logical reasons but then decided to give in. Judging by the way Rey kissed him, he assumed that it was her first time doing such thing and somehow it made him smile because it was the first time he was kissing a girl like that too. He was being gentle, patient and willing to enjoy every single moment of him tasting those vanilla and caramel flavoured lips.

“Ben,” she whispered between kisses. “The oven.”

He stopped, giggling like a teenager, and looked her in the eyes. She was panting and analyzing him with such a fascination that he did not feel like letting her go, even if it meant having his home set ablaze. Yet, he still respected her boundaries and watched her go to the oven, turn it off and pull out an overcooked turkey.

“I think it is still edible, though not entirely.”

“Well, I have a better idea,” he smiled. “How about we eat what we can for lunch and then we go have dinner with my family?”

Rey turned to face him. They were to strangers who had known each other for less than a day. Yet they both had been crazy enough to trust each other.

“Won’t they like… reject me? I mean… I am technically your maid. I am not part of your family.”

“I haven’t been part of my own family for like half of my entire life. We can choose between this and having no one to spend holidays with. And I think I want to believe that I am still wanted by my family and they will want you as well.” 

“They’re not from a secret cult of cannibals, are they?” she joked, though her anxiety was genuine and stronger than her excitement.

“Ok then. If it makes you happy.”

_ You make me happy _ , found Ben himself thinking. It was too much responsibility to be put on a stranger, even though a very cute one. Maybe it was all just a dream he would wake up from only to realize that he is all alone and miserable with no Rey by his side to encourage him and to… What did he say the night before, when he was trying to convince her to trust him? By helping her now, she would help others more in need later. Was that later already that exact moment?

“Rey?” he called her watching her every move.

She looked at him without saying anything. 

“Thank you for helping me.” 

He waited for her to slowly vanish like a hallucination, but even as he blinked, her image just became more clear. She would not disappear, because she was indeed real. And she was smiling shyly.

“I would like to say you’re welcome, but I have a vague feeling we’re going to keep helping each other for a very long while.”


End file.
